U.S. Coast Guard searches for Hamilton air ambulance missing with 6 aboard

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching off Nantucket, Massachusetts, for a Hamilton-based air ambulance that lost contact early Saturday while flying six people from Bermuda to Boston, Canadian and U.S. authorities said.

The Gulfstream G100 jet registered C-GRJP belongs to Latitude Air Ambulance, which operates from John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport. The CBC and CityNews / Canadian Press report the aircraft left Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport late Friday and was due at Boston Logan around 1:30 a.m. ET. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a search-and-rescue alert at 1:20 a.m.; Latitude’s Clarence Togeretz said the company lost contact around 1:30 a.m. as the jet approached Boston. FlightAware tracking cited by CBC showed a sharp descent from about 7,300 metres to about 3,400 metres near 1 a.m. before the track stabilized, then went dark. Nantucket Memorial Airport said it was told the aircraft had reportedly declared an emergency before contact was lost, without confirming circumstances.

Togeretz told reporters the four crew — two pilots and two medical staff — are Canadian, while a patient and relative picked up in Bermuda are not. He said it is the first time Latitude has lost contact with one of its planes and that the firm is “praying for a safe outcome.” Coast Guard assets in the search have included aircraft and an MH-60 Jayhawk from Cape Cod, a motor lifeboat from Brant Point and the cutter William Sparling. Federal Transportation Minister Steven MacKinnon said Ottawa is monitoring the search; Bermuda Premier David Burt said his government is in contact with families. Ontario’s Ornge stressed the flight was unrelated to its provincial air-ambulance work. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it is gathering information.

Sources: CBC News — Hamilton air ambulance missing; CityNews / Canadian Press; BBC News.